An 18 year old American Muslim who was detained in Heathrow for 13 hours has condemned her treatment by UK border officials as 'inhuman'.
From the state of Michigan, Ayan Mohamud, was on her first trip outside the US visiting family in Leicester for a cousin's wedding. Miss Mohamud who has never travelled alone before and not been to the UK, was relieved, when she got off the 8 hours flight on 20th November, at 6am. But what followed, has scarred her forever.
She said: "I was going to baggage reclaim and I was asked to fill out a form. I had trouble getting my aunt's address using my cellphone because it wasn't connecting to the airport wi-fi and I was sent to an area with two other people where I had to wait for a couple of hours."
Ayan was allowed to call her aunt Jawaahir Daahir, who is the founder of Leicester's Somali Development Services and was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2002 for her community cohesion work.
Jawaahir drove to Heathrow but when she arrived was told she could not see or speak to her brother's daughter.
"By that stage Ayan wasn't allowed to make any phone calls, wasn't allowed to see anyone and wasn't allowed any legal representation," Jawaahir said.
"She would have had more rights if she'd been arrested for something."
Ayan said that a female Borders Agency employee interviewing her allegedly accused her of having been sent to England for an arranged marriage.
After the interview Ayan was told she had been refused permission to enter the UK and would be kept in a detention centre overnight and put on a flight back to the USA.
But hours later another Borders Agency employee did a routine review of the case overruled the decision. She was released at 8.30pm.
Jawaahir, who lives in Evington, said: "I think what happened in Paris has made some people want to punish all Muslims.
"Some terrorists blow up innocent people and then innocent people like Ayan have to suffer."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We do not routinely comment on individual cases, but to ensure the correct decisions are reached it is sometimes necessary for Border Force to detain passengers while checks are carried out to ensure they qualify for entry to the UK."
Miss Mohamud told the BBC: “[It] hit me that I was being judged based on what I was wearing on my head... After the Paris incident happened, [the UKBA] feel that everyone wearing a scarf needs to be checked thoroughly. I felt it was inhuman for them to treat me that way.”
She said her father warned her she might face questioning at the UK border, but she said she was not expecting to be “interrogated or held in a room for hours.”
Ms Daahir, said her niece’s ordeal was “a terrible, distressful unimaginable experience for her and for our family”.
Keith Vaz, Leicester East MP, said he plans to raise Miss Mohamud’s case in his capacity as chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
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Muslim woman punched in the face
An 18-year-old Muslim woman, Ms Choudhury, who wants to be referred by her surname, was punched in the face as she walked down New Street, Birmingham, on Monday 23rd November, at about 7:30am. It is alleged that this attack took place as Ms Choudhury was wearing s hijab.
She said, “I can only think it was because he saw my hijab as he didn't take my bag or anything. I've lived in Birmingham all my life and I've never experienced something like this before. My parents are so scared that they're telling me to take my hijab off. My mum's telling me to wear a hat instead.”
Asian Voice/Gujarat Samachar does not condone such malicious behaviour towards any sect of society. We would like to know your opinion on this matter. Whether you've been a victim of discrimination or racial attack, or would like to state your discontentment, we would like to hear from you.
